Teatime with Eriol and Tomoyo
by like a falling star
Summary: Basically, Tomoyo goes over to Eriol's house for tea to discuss getting Sakura and Syaoran together. what else happens? Sweet E+T!! please read and review? pretty please!!!
1. Waiting

Hmm…  
  
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.  
  
Time was crawling by.  
  
Hiiragizawa Eriol glanced impatiently at the antique grandfather clock that was standing heavily on the thickly plush-carpeted floor in the tea room. Yes, the tea room. A room, specially designed to have tea. A room just for tea. How quaint and English-y. Of course, he was weird that way.  
  
Eriol, with his hands politely clasped behind him, walked from one end of the room to another. And back again, occasionally staring hard at the clock. Back and forth, back and forth. In other words, he was pacing. He seemed almost impatient. An impatient Eriol Hiiragiwaza was not something to be seen everyday. In fact, he was more patient than most people. It was a fine aspect of Clow's many qualities that he had inherited. Patience. However, not when it came to Tomoyo.  
  
Yes, Daidouji Tomoyo. Also known as The Girl Who Stole His Heart. Tomoyo, with her long, smooth raven curls and sweet, knowing smile and bright amethyst eyes that showed years of wisdom beyond her age. Tomoyo, who had the voice of a harp and the gentleness of a dove and the grace of a swan. Tomoyo, who was known never to be late for any appointments.  
  
Eriol frowned. Of course, she wasn't late. After all, it was a full fifteen minutes before the appointed time. Still… perhaps the clock stopped moving. Eriol wandered out of the tea room only as far as to see the clock in the next room. Nope. Absolutely nothing wrong with the clock. Fifteen more minutes to go. Fifteen agonising minutes of waiting before his angel came.  
  
No, she wasn't his angel. Not yet, Eriol thought hastily. Perhaps… was there any hope? Maybe a flickering spark in a tunnel of darkness? Any hint that she so much as paid attention to him? So much as knew of his existence? Well, he was exaggerating. Of course she knew of his existence. She was coming over to discuss getting her bestfriend and his cute descendent together, after all. She knew him.  
  
Aah. Pessimistic thoughts flooded his mind. She knew him, but as a friend. A friend, helping to get her two friends together. A scheme. A plan. Sweet and innocent-looking Daidouji Tomoyo was not a force to be reckoned with. Inside, she was conniving. Cunning, even. All for the sake of her genki friend Sakura. The plot thickens. 


	2. An interruption

The doorbell rang, a light and melodious ding-dong.  
  
Eriol literally jumped out of his seat. She was here! He practically sprinted to the door, surprised when he did not sense Tomoyo's aura. Why was that? He straightened his clothes and ran his fingers through his midnight-blue hair. He had to create a good impression if he wanted her to fall for him.  
  
He turned the knob, smiling amiably, preparing to greet his precious Tomoyo- san.  
  
Instead, a bony, middle-aged man, dressed in a crisp shirt and neatly- pressed slacks, a briefcase parked neatly at his side, stood on the porch. He beamed mechanically at Eriol. "Good afternoon, sir. Might I interest you in our multi-purpose hand tool?"  
  
Eriol's smile faded. Not Tomoyo. Just a door-to-door salesman. He glanced briefly at his watch. Maybe the salesman would get the hint.  
  
No luck there.  
  
The salesman reached into his briefcase and pulled out something that looked like a cross between baton and a paintbrush. He stuck his hand into a gap on the hand tool, and tugged. Almost instantly a bushy-looking thing popped out. To Eriol it looked almost like rat fur on a stick.  
  
The salesman cleared his throat, almost proudly. "This," he told Eriol, "is a toothbrush."  
  
Eriol's ears nearly bulged out of his head. Had he heard correctly? That-- that thing was supposed to be good for keeping hygiene? "Very.. useful." He said instead, nodding politely.  
  
The salesman beamed again and continued pulling various ridiculously useless things out from the hand tool, showing them to Eriol proudly.  
  
"A spade," he said to Eriol. "Very good for gardening." It looked more like a plastic spoon. Besides, who would put a toothbrush and a dirty spade together in the same tool? Really, these people needed to grow some brains.  
  
"A wine-opener… you can bring it to weddings and make your friends drunk!" The salesman laughed. Eriol smiled weakly. It was a pathetic attempt at a joke, really.  
  
"Vernier callipers… aah… very useful for measuring the external and internal diameters of objects to an accuracy of 0.1cm!"  
  
Ok, this was getting truly lame.  
  
"A calligraphy brush, and it comes with a complimentary bottle of ink!" The salesman said brightly, shoving a bottle of black ink under Eriol's nose, as if to let him inspect it.  
  
Eriol nodded, squirming uncomfortably.  
  
The salesman was looking more and more hopeful with each thing, and Eriol was getting more and more impatient. Two more minutes, he told himself. I'll endure this guy for two minutes. Then I'm entitled to explode. Tomoyo was due to come in five minutes, and she was always on time. Never late, never early… but really, where was she?  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* 


	3. Tomoyo

Teatime with Eriol and Tomoyo  
  
By like a falling star  
  
  
  
Tomoyo brushed her hair a final time and applied a touch of lip gloss. Dressed in a light blue tank top, a short, flippy skirt and pale blue sandals, she was nearly ready to go.  
  
Nearly.  
  
She grabbed her purse off her dresser and slipped in a packet of tissue, her cellphone, and her wallet.  
  
Most people watching her would have thought she was preparing for a hot date or something. With a certain blue-eyed, wicked-looking reincarnation.  
  
Or not.  
  
The problem was-- why was she getting all dressed up and flustered because of this? Well, she had to admit, Eriol had been looking pretty good these few couple of weeks. Plus he was being really sweet and charming to her. Probably just part of his polite upbringing in England, but still… oh, well. Tomoyo brushed off the thought. She had to look good because, well, a Daidouji always looked good. It was all in the name. That was the reason… right?  
  
So. It was technically a date, considering the fact that she was going to have a meal [tea, actually] with a member of the opposite sex, and she was dolling up for that. But it was not a date. It was merely two friends having tea while discussing a plot to get the genki Sakura and the opposite- of-genki Syaoran together.  
  
Was having tea an excuse to scheme? Or was the scheme an excuse to have tea?  
  
Either way, Tomoyo decided. It didn't matter.  
  
Tea was tea; a scheme was a scheme. So they overlapped. So what?  
  
Tomoyo checked her reflection in the mirror to make sure that she looked presentable for her non-date with Eriol. Hair neatly brushed, teeth white, skirt smoothed, and smile in place. All set.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Eriol sighed, satisfied. The salesman had finally been taken care of. Of course, Eriol had to buy that stupid multi-purpose tool before the salesman actually left. But it was worth it. He didn't want Tomoyo to come and then be scared away by some loony salesperson who thought that he could actually make money out of selling that ridiculous tool.  
  
Now he would be all ready when Tomoyo came, which, Eriol decided, glancing at his expensive Rolex watch, was approximately in three seco--  
  
Ding dong.  
  
Eriol leapt up in his seat for the second time that day. He rushed to the door, checking his reflection in the mirror on the way. Darn. A strand of dark blue hair was out of place. Now what would Tomoyo think? He flattened the wild strand of hair back, willing it to stay in place.  
  
Eriol flung open the door, trying to look as calm and collected as he usually was, but his heart was just beating way to fast for that. 'Good afternoon, Tomoyo' were the words he was prepared to say, but they were stuck in his throat as he took in Tomoyo, who was standing on the porch steps, a sweet smile on her face, her cheeks tinged faintly with the rosy colour of one who had just had a relaxing, freshening stroll.  
  
"Hello to you too, Eriol." Tomoyo said, giggling at the funny look on Eriol's face. She thought that Eriol looked impeccably good-looking in khakis and a casual button-down shirt. And for that matter, his lean body looked pretty good in his clothes too. Ok, this is not good. I should NOT be thinking that way, not when there are more important things to discuss. Like Sakura's and Syaoran's future.  
  
"I'm sorry, I wasn't-- I was just… why don't you come in?" Eriol invited, changing the subject.  
  
"Thank you." Tomoyo smiled graciously, walking into the manor. It hadn't changed much since the last time she'd been here, when Eriol explained his whole Clow Reed story to Sakura and the others. Oh, maybe a new mantlepiece here, a fresh painting there - Tomoyo's keen artistic eye noticed these things - but the manor remained as classically beautiful as it had been before.  
  
Eriol led her into the tea room, and cleared his throat. "Why don't you take a seat?" he gestured towards a comfortable-looking one-seater, and waited for Tomoyo to sink into the soft maroon velvet and red satin cushions before sitting down himself.  
  
Tomoyo noticed a piano sitting in a corner of the room. She quirked an eyebrow in surprise. "Why, you have a piano here too! And I just saw a beautiful grand piano in the living room." She remarked.  
  
Eriol nodded. "We have a piano in every main room-- well, almost every room. Nakuru refuses to learn to play - she thinks it's boring - and Spinel can't play."  
  
Tomoyo looked interested. "Do you play very much?" She'd heard rumours in school that Eriol played wonderfully, but she'd never had the opportunity to hear it once herself.  
  
Eriol's gaze travelled to the corner of the room, his eyes softening when it rested on the piano. Worn was its yellowed keys but the sentiments it held was greater than any brand-new piano could have brought. Music was his one joy, the one thing that could truly let him express himself, be himself. "I love making music." He told her.  
  
A shy, unsure smile lit Tomoyo's lips. "Could you- would you play for me?"  
  
Eriol's face broke into a warm smile. "Sure, if you want me to."  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* 


End file.
